


show the marks upon your skin

by oknarry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-15 22:59:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3465191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oknarry/pseuds/oknarry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is fifteen the first time his mom sits him down and tells him about his soulmate. She tells him how when he turns eighteen whatever scar or bruise or mark his soulmate experiences, he will too, and in return his will experience the same effects. Harry nods his head politely but urgently, not quite wrapping his head around the whole concept because he just wants to go back to playing FIFA with his mates from school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	show the marks upon your skin

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was inspired by a tag i saw on tumblr about a narry soulmate au where Harry burns himself on a bakery pan (i honestly only remember that part) and it spiraled into this
> 
> (liam isn't really in it and zayn isn't at all forgive me)
> 
> this is my first time ever posting on here and i really hope you enjoy it!

 

Harry is fifteen the first time his mom sits him down and tells him about his soulmate. She tells him how when he turns eighteen whatever scar or bruise or mark his soulmate experiences, he will too, and in return his will experience the same effects. Harry nods his head politely but urgently, not quite wrapping his head around the whole concept because he just wants to go back to playing FIFA with his mates from school.

 

***

The first time Harry gets a mark, he’s nineteen. He’s in uni now and Louis, his roommate, has just dragged him to a party thrown by some guy on the track team that Harry thinks he remembers Louis has a class with. The walls seem to be spinning, Harry thinks, either from the few shots he’s taken or because the flat they are inside of is thumping from the music and the huge crowd of people dancing. Harry is giggling with Louis as they dance to the tune of a techno song, girls around them are swaying their hips seductively and Harry feels the bass of the song thumping along to his heartbeat and feels the rush of laughter and freedom and alcohol running through his veins.

When he wakes up, Harry slightly winces at the beams of sun that make it through his curtains and his mouth feels extremely dry. He also feels the extreme need to take a piss, which motivates him enough to hobble off his bed and the warmth of his duvet to the bathroom. It’s when he’s washing his hands, he notices it. On his collarbone, a bright fresh love bite.

Harry’s head is rushing, trying to remember if it was possible last night he grabbed onto some boy in the crowd and had a quick snog that caused this. But Harry wasn't _that_ drunk last night, he was tipsy yes, but as he places his hands on the corners of the sink he distinctly remembers he didn't do anything with anyone.

That’s another thing about Harry, he knows people his age are incredibly careless about hooking up with another, claiming it is all fun and casual until they meet their soulmate, but Harry absolutely hates that. Sure, he’s had a few snogs, but he’s still a virgin. Which Louis reminds him about almost every day.

Harry runs a hand through his hair starting to feel disappointed, a little sad even. The love bite isn't that big nor that deep, but the small flush of red that clashes against his tan skin, isn't something that he wants to dwell upon. He’s in the kitchen now, starting on making a cup of tea and grabbing a banana when a disheveled Louis trudges in, bare feet dragging on the ground. Harry has always handed his alcohol better than him, but then again Harry is smarter and knows his limits.

Louis slumps into a stool next to the countertop, immediately resting his head against the cold tile, moaning about how awful the day is already. Harry just rolls his eyes and sets a mug of hot tea in front of him with two sugars and cream. Louis finally lifts his head to look at Harry, who still hasn't bothered to put a shirt on, and raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Who did you pull last night?” Louis teases and Harry freezes.

Harry coughs as he grabs his mug of tea, mumbling, “No one.” The corners of Louis’ lips that were in a smile fall and his eyebrows furrow and Harry shifts his weight back and forth on his feet, “Oh sorry Haz I just figured-” Louis starts once he figures it out, that this must be on his soulmates body, but Harry cuts him off, “Yeah I know. Kinda sad too,” he confesses. Louis gives him a sympathetic look but Harry just places his mug down and starts walking towards his room muttering he was just going to go for a run.

And if he feels a small ache in his knee while he’s running, Harry makes nothing of it.

***

Harry is in the library the next time he gets a mark only a week later. He’s printing out a paper he just finished for a class that’s due tomorrow when he feels a sudden huge pain in his ankle, so much so he has trouble walking to the printer. Harry sits down once he makes it back to his bag, pulling up his tight jeans on his right leg to see two red slash marks on the inside of his ankle. The slash marks are throbbing now but Harry is thankful as the pain begins to slowly burn out as works on his homework, wondering and slightly hoping whatever his soulmate just did, that they're alright.

 

***

Harry works in a nearby bakery on the weekends. His other co-workers are mainly old women but he doesn't mind getting to man the counter with them or help in the back room, making a couple pastries here and there or stacking bread. Harry’s mopping the tile floor in front of the display cases when the familiar ring of the bell on the door sounds but he doesn’t bother to look up, only when he’s heard a yelp. Harry widens his eyes in surprise seeing a boy now on the wet floor and offers him a hand to help him up. “Sorry about that,” Harry apologizes to the boy, who he notices has a striking pair of blue eyes that contrast his pale skin and blonde hair.

The boy, who’s around his age, smiles wide at Harry, “Not your fault mate! Should've been paying attention to where I was going. Think I was too preoccupied at the thought of a good blueberry scone,” he finishes off in a clear Irish accent and Harry can't help the fact he was smiling now too.

“Harry I told you to put up the signs about wet floor!” Barbara scolds him behind the register and Harry can't help but feel guilty again. The boy doesn't say anything but frowns a little, causing his lips to pucker slightly which Harry finds adorable.

“Here just-,” he starts, dropping the mop and making his way behind the counter and grabbing a blueberry scone in a display case. He places it inside a paper bag and hands it to the boy, “It’s on me. Sorry about the fall.” Barbara is beaming at Harry’s act of kindness but he’s more focused on the blonde boy’s bright smile and quick thank you, before he’s heading out of the door. And if Harry feels a slight bruise on his elbow later as he shuts the supply closet door, he doesn’t make the connection.

***

Harry gets bruises frequently now. They appear almost all around the same time though, around the afternoon, finally properly forming at night. It's something which Harry doesn't quite understand especially with this big bruise on his upper arm, until Louis makes a guess one night, “Maybe he plays a sport?” Harry figures he has to be right, and if not he’s extremely worried that his soulmate is either extremely clumsy or in danger, because no normal person gets bruises this often.

 

***

Harry is working his shift at the bakery again, slightly dancing along to the song playing overhead on the radio and air guitaring, except with a mop, which is making all the ladies giggle at his silliness. Harry pulls out a fresh batch of blueberry scones out of the oven later and his mouth practically waters at the smell of them. Barbara smacks his hand as he reaches to grab one, scolding him to save them for the customers and if he's lucky he can have one if there's still any by the end of the day. 

The bakery is busier than usual today, Harry is working the front register quickly as a huge rush of uni kids come in, wanting something warm and sweet instead of the cold cloudy weather outside.

After the small rush dies down, Harry goes to the back to help take some of the fresh loaves of bread out of the oven to cool down and then be sliced. As he reaches for a pan, the hot metal barely touches his exposed skin of his arm that isn't covered by his oven mitt, long enough to leave a burn. Harry hisses, and rushes to the sink after he puts down the pan, running cold water on the burn, hoping it won't blister.

Paul, the head baker, shakes his head at Harry once he sees what happens, but gives him some aloe vera to help the pain and Barbara lets him have a blueberry scone.

 

***

Harry's at the nearby laundry mat washing his clothes and reading a book, enjoying the usual hum of the clothes tumbling in the dryer and the swish of the clothes washing when someone taps him on the shoulder. Harry looks up from his page to meet eyes with the same boy who slipped in the bakery a couple weeks back. The boy smiles in realization, "Hey is this one taken?" He asks pointing to the washer next to Harry's.

Harry shakes his head no and the blonde haired boy gives him a small smile. Harry focuses on the boys profile as he leans down to grab some clothes and place them into the washer repeatedly. He has freckles on his neck and his hair must be dyed blonde because he officially notices the boy has brown roots.

He's in a tank top that looks like it was a t-shirt but the sleeves are cut off and it's wrinkled and he has stick thin legs. The boy looks out of the corner of his eye to see Harry staring at him which causes Harry to feel guilty being caught, a blush rising to his cheeks as he looks away and pretends he was reading his book, but he stares at the dirty checkered floor instead.

The boy plops down in the seat right next to Harry after he begins his wash, despite there being plenty of chairs to sit in. "You go to Mayfield?" He asks him and Harry closes his book and nods. "Do you wash your clothes here a lot?" The boy asks now and Harry shrugs, "Yeah I do. The campus ones are too expensive."

The blonde boy whistles and nods his head, "I know. That's why I'm here. The training room finally busted my arse for mixing my regular clothes with my football stuff that they wash for us," he says with a laugh. It's loud, Harry thinks. But not the loud annoying kind but the loud comforting kind, a kind he doesn't mind getting to hear. 

"You play on the football team?" Harry asks him now and the blonde boy nods his head excitedly. "Absolutely love it. Don't know how much longer I'll last though," the boy says and Harry notices the change in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

"My knees having issues lately and I'm getting behind in classes because of practice and stuff," he shrugs as Harry's dryer signals it's done. Harry stands up and grabs his basket, pouring his clean clothes inside before sitting back down and folding them. 

The boy starts laughing and Harry looks up from his black t-shirt, their eyes locking for a moment, "What's so funny?" He pouts. 

"My ma would love you! You actually fold your clothes!?" The boy cries out in disbelief and Harry's smiling now with narrowed eyes.

"No wonder your shirt is wrinkled," he teases the boy, nudging his side slightly with his elbow at a wrinkle.

The boy rolls his eyes but has a smile on his face that vanishes when his washer starts making weird noises. His bright blue eyes widen (Harry also notices little flicks of green and yellow in them and they are just so so pretty) and jumps up to his washer.

Harry stands up too and cautiously makes it over as the boy opens it up and groans. Harry moves his head to one side wondering what is happening. "I think they're all the same color now," the boy frowns and Harry giggles. "Were you raised in a barn? Who doesn't know how to do laundry by now?"

The boy pouts his lips and Harry finds it just as adorable as he did the first time he did it at the bakery. "I was born in Ireland actually," he corrects him, "but it was hard remembering after not doing mine for awhile especially with you staring." 

Harry blushes and learns his name is Niall before he leaves with his laundry folded and a smile on his face and his cheeks flushed.

***

Harry is still getting marks and bruises, not as frequent, but they still occur. Thankfully there's been no more love bites but there was a nasty bruise on his shin that he only discovered when Louis kicked him to stay awake while studying in the library. Over the past couple weeks Niall has become a slight regular at the bakery and in the laundry mat. Harry discovers they both have similar music tastes and Harry loves talking to him because Niall makes him laugh but at the same time he's getting quite worried. Harry can't have a crush on Niall when his soulmate is somewhere out there, that feels like cheating. Just wrong to him.

Harry is walking down the stands with Louis inside of the uni stadium to watch the football game Niall invited him to, settling down into a seat. Louis is sitting next to the boy who threw that one party they went to where Harry discovered his first mark the next morning. Liam, Harry thinks he remembers his name was.

 Harry rubs his left knee as the football team finishes warming up and heads in to huddle up. The game starts and Harry watches them play only slightly interested until Niall gets subbed onto the field. It happens quickly, Niall sends a pass and then the next thing Harry knows, Niall’s lying on the grass clutching his left knee and the pain in his has reached unbearable.

And in his pain Harry finally makes the connection. Niall has a bum left knee, his left knee is throbbing and aching in pain. How that one time Harry said how he hates that people hook up with one another so carelessly and Niall confessed he got so drunk at the last party he went to that he hooked up with some guy and woke up with a love bite and feeling extremely guilty and hasn't gone to a party since despite being an "Irish man who loves his pints."

How Niall has little cuts on his fingers from playing guitar (something he told Harry when he caught him air guitaring with the mop in the bakery) like Harry now does. How Niall gets bruises from football and Harry has a ton. Or one weekend when Louis and him went and got new tattoos and Niall complained to him how his left upper arm had felt tingly but painful as he put his laundry in and Harry got his new tattoo on his upper left arm.

Harry watches Niall being taken off the field on a stretcher with tears in his eyes from the pain in his knee and mouth open at realizing Niall is his soulmate. Niall is his soulmate. Louis touches Harry's arm and asks him if he's alright but he just shakes his head no and gets up out of his seat watching as the trainers take Niall under the tunnel, out from the field.

***

Harry hasn't seen Niall for a week. He doesn't know where he lives on campus, and he hasn't been to the bakery or the laundry mat. And that's making Harry anxious, he's constantly tapping his feet which Louis shoots him dirty looks for and he can't concentrate. Harry doesn't know what he's supposed to do when he sees Niall again, that's the other problem. Do people go up to each other and just say, "Hey you're my soulmate?"

But then Harry wakes up the next week with a long ugly scar on his left knee and he doesn't know what's happened to Niall but it’s pretty scary. He hasn't gotten any other marks or bruises since Niall got hurt in that football game, which mean he obviously hasn't played since then.

"He got surgery on his knee. He's not allowed to play anymore," Louis shrugs and tells him after Harry raced out of bed to Louis' room and asked if he knew where Niall had been recently. Harry frowns, hoping Niall isn't too sad or disappointed about that because he remembers in the laundry mat how he told him he loves playing football.

“He’s my soulmate Lou,” Harry whispers quietly and he hears Louis take a sharp intake of breath. “I have this nasty scar on my knee now,” he explains and Louis just mutters that everything is going to be all right as he comforts Harry.

***

The next week Harry's at the laundry mat, still reading the same book when he hears little crutch noises from the entrance. He turns to see Niall looking tired in a grey hoodie and some sweats, a mesh bag filled with dirty clothes hanging off his shoulder. Harry immediately wants to curl up with him and give him a good cuddle, but instead he makes his way to him and takes the mesh bag for him.

“Thanks,” Niall says, giving Harry an odd look because he's smiling wide, he can even feel his dimples that are out on display. "Hey," Harry says, happy that all his anxiousness before has seen to disappear the second he saw Niall. He puts the laundry load on for him, taking two quarters from Niall who’s already sitting down in one of the plastic white chairs.

"Hey. Been quite rough with these things," Niall motions with his crutches, "I sure do miss those blueberry scones though," he grumbles, clutching his stomach in fake agony. Harry laughs as he sits down next to him, he's just so giddy and happy that Niall’s here because everything feels so simple with him. "What, you didn't miss doing your laundry?" He teases and Niall shoots him a narrowed glare, but Harry knows he's kidding.

"Can't really say that when you're the one who folds everything for me," Niall rolls his eyes while Harry is more focused on the way Niall's left knee looks much more swollen than his right. Niall must catch him. "I've got a really nasty scar there now. Makes me look like Frankenstein or something."

Harry nods, "I know." He can feel Niall physically freeze up next to him and his mouth opens. Harry doesn't say anything but turns his head and suddenly their faces are close together and their eyes connect. He lifts his hand to feel Niall's face in his palm, tracing his jawline and watching Niall swallow and lick his lips before dropping it onto Niall's right arm, watching him nod his head, signaling it’s okay. Harry pulls the sleeve of Niall’s hoodie up, smiling slightly seeing a small scar there, exactly where Harry burned himself on the pan in the bakery weeks back.

"So.." Niall whispers with a small smile putting it together and Harry nods his head, "Yeah." Harry doesn't wait any longer before leaning down and connecting Niall's lips to his. Harry's stomach is exploding with butterflies bigger than the one imprinted on his skin and his mind is rushing like the sound of the ocean hitting the waves. Niall’s lips are soft but still firm and it’s simple and gentle but Harry can still feel the blood rush to his face and the back of the neck and shivers slightly when Niall’s hands come to play with the ends of his hair and everything around him has become buzzed in the background. Harry pulls away slightly grinning but Niall reconnects their lips again and Harry feels like he’s floating when Niall's tongue traces his bottom lip because he doesn't remember kissing someone felt as good as it does right now.

When they both finally pull away with flushed cheeks at the sound of Harry’s wash being done, Harry jumps up with a giggle and Niall laughs, throwing his head back and his eyes look brighter than before. “Laundry then blueberry scones?” Harry offers and Niall nods his head eagerly. Harry purposely shakes his bum as he bends to move his wet clothes into the dryer and Niall’s laugh echoes again and Harry knows everything turned out just right. Even if they both do have Frankenstein scars now.


End file.
